


Rawr

by Mikukise



Category: Monsta X (Band), The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Caregivers!Monsta X, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Little!Hyunjoon, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-08-23 17:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16623272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikukise/pseuds/Mikukise
Summary: Hyunjoon is a little, but no one knows and trouble arises (featuring Monsta X)





	1. The First

The Boyz were just finished with their last comeback, the first one with Hwall, and they were already preparing for the next one. They hadn't promoted for very long, only five weeks, but they were exhausted. Everyone still gave their all during practice, but they were a little on edge.  
  
"Hyunjoon, pay attention. You're already behind because of your physical therapy, so can you at least pay attention to what we are doing here?" Changmin was a little irritated to say the least. Everyone was ahead of schedule except for Hyunjoon. He couldn't get one move down and they all had to stay late because of that. He knew that the younger had more problems with footwork ever since the surgery, but he was tired and his mind clouded.

"If you really want to be an idol, act like one. You can't sing and you're not one of our best rappers. You're only here because of your looks and your dancing. If you can't dance, then what? Are you ever going to take responsibility and stop acting like a baby!" Sangyeon snapped.  
  
"I ..."  
  
"Don't deny it, Hyunjoon, you're lacking in everything. Act mature and suck it up. Your free day is revoked by the way. You need to train harder and polish your skills. Stay also at least an hour later to practice. If I see you home any earlier or if I hear that you left the building, you're going to regret it. What? Do you think you can't do it? Is that why you are panicking? You're the least skilled out of all twelve of us and you work the least. Giddy up promotions were a lot more fun and a lot better because you weren't there." Sangyeon kept going.  
  
Hyunjoon whimpered softly and bit his lip to stop more sounds from escaping.  
  
"So, you're going to be pathetic and cry? I expected better of you, you're older than me and you cry because of this? What a baby." Sunwoo talked this time.  
  
Deep down they knew it was wrong, but they were too tired, angry and frustrated to think about that.  
  
"Don't you think we should calm down and talk it out like civilised people?" Juyeon asked, sensing that the conversation had taken a completely wrong turn. "And don't cancel Joonie's day off, he hasn't had one in over two months."  
  
It was true, while they got rest days from time to time, there was always something to do or Hyunjoon had to go to the hospital. He hadn't had a full free day in months.  
  
"No, I'm not going to change anything I said, do you understand?" Sangyeon said. "Come on, dance practice is over. Let's go to the dorms. I don't want to see you back until 2 am, do you hear me?"  
  
"Yes, I understand."  
  
Everyone left reluctantly, not wanting to get left behind but still shaken up from what had happened. They all sensed things had gone too far and that Sangyeon had certainly gone too far, but no one had energy to do something about it.  
  
In the meantime, Hyunjoon stayed in the practice room, alone. Once he was sure that all the others had left, he broke down. He knew they probably didn't think before they talked, but he couldn't believe that when he told himself these same things. They just confirmed all his doubts. If it would've been online hate posts or some hater he didn't know, he wouldn't even bother paying attention, but these were his members, his family, he couldn't just ignore what they said. And it had been going on for longer than that day. There had been a few snide remarks from everyone, although some of them (mainly Jacob, Hyunjae and Juyeon) apologised.  
  
Hyunjoon practised hard for the rest of the night, not coming out of the practice room once. It was 5 am when he went to refill his bottle of water and ran into someone.  
  
"Hey, kiddo. Isn't it a little bit late for you to be here? You don't have to work that hard you know, you're only a trainee."  
  
"I ... uhm ... "  
  
"I don't think he's a trainee, Kihyunie. Aren't you from The Boyz?" Shownu intervened.  
  
"Yes, I am Hwall or Heo Hyunjoon."  
  
"Don't overwork yourself, boy. It isn't worth it. You should get a free day tomorrow, I mean today. This isn't healthy."  
  
"But you can't. Sangyeon has revoked my only day off because I am not good enough. Giving me one today isn't going to make a difference, I'll be dragged to practice anyway."  
  
"I ... What kind of leader do you have?" Kihyun suddenly got a little angry. "That's no way of treating one of your members, is it Shownu?"  
  
"No, it's not."  
  
"Hey, where are you guys?" someone yelled down the hallway.  
  
"We're busy, Minhyuk. Just go back. We'll come later."  
  
"Sure. But I am coming to meddle anyway. Wait ... Did you cry?" Minhyuk asked, noticing the tear tracks on Hyunjoon's face. The cheerful behaviour of the idol changed once he saw his expression. He looked immensely worried.  
  
"Oh, baby." Kihyun's mother instincts kicked in. He immediately hugged the younger, although he was taller, and started to comfort him. "It'll be okay. Shh, don't cry, sweetheart."  
  
The gesture only caused the boy to sob silently in the elder's embrace. Hyunjoon eventually fell asleep. All the other Monsta X members had gathered around in the meantime. They knew about The Boyz and that the rookie group trained in the same building, but they never really got involved with them, apart from Shownu being part of Dispatch's Main Dancers with Q. They had seen their performances and the one named Hwall in front of them had left a good impression on them. Seeing him like this was not what they expected.  
  
BTS's Idol was suddenly heard through the hallway.  
  
"Someone's calling him. It says "human angel Jacob'."  
  
"Pick up, I want to know what happened, please Wonho, and don't tell them about just now."  
  
"Okay, Kihyun."  
  
Wonho picked up.  
  
"Hi, Hyunjoonie, are you still practising? It's already half past five and we have another practice at seven."  
  
"Hyunjoon's asleep now, I think he fell asleep about ten minutes ago."  
  
"Oh no, that's not good. Oh my god, I should have done something yesterday, maybe he would've gone to the dorms with us. Oh, I'm sorry, who is this actually?"  
  
"It's Wonho, from Monsta X, but can you please not tell anyone?"  
  
"Okay. I should hang up now. I will bring a spare bag of clothes so that he can change. Thank you very much and have a good day."  
  
"You're welcome and you too."  
  
Once the phone call was finished, Monsta X moved the boy to the practice room he was in and got rid of every proof that he cried, even applying some light make up.  
  
An hour later, the boy woke up in the practice room alone. He stretched a little while waiting for the others to arrive.  
  
"Hey, Joonie. I brought you some clothes. Go change now. Have you eaten breakfast?"  
  
"Jacob? Good morning, hyung. Thank you so much. I'll see you later." The boy quickly left the practice room to shower and changed into his clean clothes. Once he was back in the practice room, everyone was already stretching.  
  
"Look who decided to join us today? Aren't you a little late? I should honestly just kick you out if you keep acting like this. Anyway, I hope you actually did something yesterday, so let's see what it is." Sangyeon's tone was still angry and agressive.  
  
They started their practice and Hyunjoon had indeed improved, he had that one move down and his timing was perfect. The progress he had made in one night was amazing, but a few hours into practice, the boy started to slack off. The lack of sleep and food was starting to take a toll on him. They took a 15-minute break and everything was fine once again.  
  
Sangyeon's aggression towards him remained though and Hyunjoon had to stay another night. That pattern continued for another week and a half before he collapsed somewhere through the night. When the eleven other members arrived in the afternoon, after having a free morning, they found him. He was in the middle of the room, his body in a not so comfortable position.  
  
"Heo Hyunjoon, wake up. We don't have the entire day."  
  
"He isn't waking up, Sangyeon. What do we do?" Eric started panicking.  
  
"That's nonsense."  
  
"Stop it, hyung. Hyunjoon is destroying himself because of you!" The maknae was now crying.  
  
"Stop being so sensitive, it's for his own good."  
  
"I ... Should we get help?" Eric asked. "I don't think we can wake him up on our own."  
  
He then left the room and ran into the hallway, Changmin, Sunwoo and Kevin followed, the three of them more familiar with the building. Changmin almost ran into Shownu when he ran down the stairs.  
  
"Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to. I just ..."  
  
"Hey, calm down. What's going on?"  
  
"Hyunjoon collapsed. Don't know what to do." Changmin wheezed out.  
  
"Okay, I can see if I can help. My group is right behind me. They will all know what to do. Is that okay with you?"  
  
"Yes, thank you so much."  
  
"Shownu, what's going on?"  
  
"An idol kid collapsed, Kihyunie."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"It's Hyunjoon."  
  
Changmin was a little puzzled by Monsta X knowing Hyunjoon, but the latter's health was more important. He guided his seven seniors to their practice room where Hwall was, still unconscious. Looks of horror were seen on the faces of the ones who stayed. The fact that their seniors were coming to help terrified them, they would know about their schedule and what happened to Hwall. While they knew that what had happened was wrong, they never made it known, most of them using the opportunity to take their anger out on the boy. They didn't think something like this would happen. That their seniors would know only made it worse. In the meantime, the others had come back after Chanhee had texted them. Eric was still upset and silently hugged Juyeon, the elder not denying his affection for once. Kihyun seated himself on the floor next to Hyunjoon, taking his head in his lap and playing with his hair. He continued on doing that, softly humming a calming song.  
  
"What happened?" The younger boy's voice startled all of them, he sounded a little slurred and he hadn't moved at all. Slowly opening his eyes, he made eye contact with Kihyun, who was staring down at him lovingly, as if he was his child. It caused something to stir inside the younger. He wanted the thought to be true, but he couldn't slip, he had to work, had to be better. He couldn't allow himself to relax or get rid of stress even though not slipping only caused more stress. Quickly working on repressing every thought of being little or that was associated with it, the boy rolled of the elder's lap, avoiding eye contact as much as he could. He had almost slipped that night when Kihyun was comforting him, it couldn't happen again. He didn't need to be little, it was wrong, so wrong and he didn't deserve it at all, he had been bad. He only needed to slip once a month to prevent actually slipping in front of the others. Sure, when times were stressful he would be on the verge of little space from time to time, which caused him to act like a baby. That had already happened a lot of times, but the others assumed it was just his babylike personality and they had been very clear about disliking it a few times, so slipping when he could be caught was out of the question. Not slipping could be dangerous though and the poor boy hadn't slipped in almost two months, now that his free day was revoked, that could become three months. He should be able to live without his little space and he normally never thought about it, but the last two weeks of snide remarks, barely eating and sleeping and overworking himself were pushing him closer and closer to the edge.  
  
"Hey, are you alright?"  
  
His inner turmoil didn't go unnoticed. Kihyun had noticed the sudden panic and the conflict in his eyes and decided to step in once again.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine."  
  
"Did you get sufficient rest after that one night?I mean, you really need it."  
  
"I ..." Hyunjoon didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell the truth with Sangyeon's cold eyes focused on him, but he couldn't lie to Kihyun either.  
  
"Did you stay late to practice every night after that and never take a break?" It was Shownu who talked this time, joining Kihyun on the floor and speaking just as gentle as him. The younger boy could only nod, relaxing a little, but still not coming out of his shell.  
  
"Okay, that's not good. How much have you eaten in the past week and a half?"  
  
"I ate lunch every day and some snacks during pracice from time to time." His voice sounded so small as he said that, his Busan accent slipping in his speech. Everyone in Monsta X softened at the sight. It was obvious the younger needed to be taken care of. They had their suspicions about him being a little after he broke down that night. The boy had sucked on his thumb and refused to let go of Kihyun, his words reduced to a babylike speech, but the boy probably didn't remember it because he had been exhausted. Afterwards, they watched a lot of videos and after the LieV they were certain he did indeed regress. With his childlike poking for attention, cuddling and holding hands, even occasionally bringing his thumb to his mouth and barely talking, it was obvious he had slipped halfway. When they saw the boy relax at the parentlike behaviour of two of their members, they were 100% sure. It was obvious he tried to hide it though. The other The Boyz members didn't have a clue either, or they would have already done something.  
  
"Jesus, Hyunjoon, you can't even speak properly now, why are you still here? Just quit!" Sangyeon was angry and his sudden shout startled Monsta X. Well, the reason Hwall didn't slip into little space was very clear now. What surprised them more was how the boy didn't even flinch, he looked so used to that treatment.  
  
"Sangyeon, stop this. We're the same age and yet you can't act mature. You're a leader and I'm a maknae and I'm more mature than you. If you want to be an adult, then you take him back to the dorm, make sure he eats and let him rest, preferably apologising and leaving him alone." I.M had intervened, his voice neutral but decisive. He had a staring contest with Sangyeon and the latter lost, silently beckoning the others to follow him.  
  
"Hyunjoon, before you go. Give me your phone. Here's my number in case there is a little emergency. I'm not very good with big ones." Kihyun said. He noticed the small glint in the younger's eyes as he said the word little, making sure it sounded more important.  
  
He knows, how can he know? Did he do anything? Did he slip? Do the others know? Hyunjoon started panicking.  
  
"Hey, it's only for emergencies you don't want your group to know about." Shownu stepped in. He patted the boy's head to comfort him before sending him off to his group.  
  
After Hyunjoon got back and could rest for a bit, he locked himself up in his room. He slipped into little space, hiding from the others. He didn't slip completely, he was still aware of the other's presence and made himself be quiet. He sucked on his sweater sleeve and coloured a few cartoons in old magazines. He had no stuff for his little space at all. After an hour, Kevin gently knocked on the door. He needed to come in to get some clothes. The little quickly hid the magazine, opened the door and forced himself out of little space.  
  
"Hi, are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."  
  
"But I want to. I know we've been ignoring you and I want to make it up to you."  
  
"You don't have to, hyung. There's nothing wrong. Thank you though." The boy smiled softly at Kevin, melting the latter, but he didn't notice.  
  
Hyunjoon arranged everything until there was nothing suspicious and disposed of the old magazines. He then went to the kitchen where he was coddled by the Bermuda Triangle while they were trying to feed him. He refused but caved in eventually. He felt himself relaxing and his headspace sneaking up on him. Hyunjoon quickly left as he noticed that, not wanting to slip in front of them. He left the dorm on a whim and went to a cafe where he could be anonymous. It was his secret safe place. Knowing it wasn't safe for him to be out alone with his headspace so close, he called Kihyun and the elder quickly came, Shownu joining them as well.  
  
"Hey, why are you here?" Kihyun's voice was gentle. He didn't want to scare the younger away.  
  
"I ..."  
  
"Don't pressure yourself. Do you only want to tell one of us? Wait, take both of our hands and squeeze one. The other will leave. Is that okay? We won't be hurt." Shownu said, his voice cautious and caring. Suddenly, his phone rang. "Oh, I'm sorry, I have to go. You'll have to talk to Kihyunie. Bye." The bear ruffled Hyunjoon's hair as he left, cooing as the boy leant in to his touch.  
  
"Are you alright here or do you want to talk somewhere else? No one is in the dorm right now." That was actually a lie, but he would sent everyone away if they went there.  
  
"Is that really okay?"  
  
"Yes, let's go." Kihyun quickly sent a text to Monsta X's Hwall protection group chat before taking the other's hand, he had sounded so small and scared. As he led the boy to the dorm, he had to stop a few times to let him pet a stray cat. The younger also had a habit of swinging their intertwined hands, it was honestly really adorable.  
  
Once in the dorm, his demeanour changed though. They took a seat in the kitchen, as it was an open space with chairs that weren't comfortable enough to relax a lot. Hyunjoon had also gotten his more serious behaviour back. He squinted his eyes at Kihyun, asking him to start the conversation.  
  
"Do you want to talk?"  
  
"Yes, you won't hate me?"  
  
"No, of course not sweetheart."  
  
"Well, I think you already figured out that I'm a little. I know I should be okay with it, but I am not. And I keep on slipping and it scares me. I've tried other coping mechanisms but they don't work. No one knows about me being a little and I don't want anyone to know. Some of them don't like little space so I'm scared to tell them, certainly after everything that happened."  
  
"Oh, do you have a caregiver and supplies?"  
  
"No, I never had them." His voice was so small and fragile, Kihyun wanted to wrap him in bubble plastic and never let him go again.  
  
"Do you want me to take care of you?" The boy's eyes widened at this, his mouth a little agape. "The others want to do so too. We have space in our schedule and it would relax us as well. We also kind of took the liberty to buy some stuff. I hope you're not mad."  
  
"Do you mean that? You really wouldn't mind?"  
  
"Why would I? It's a win-win situation." Kihyun's voice left no space for arguments and with Hyunjoon having already slipped halfway, the younger chose to accept it.  
  
"When do you have time to do it?"  
  
"I am free now and Shownu might be back soon. Are you feeling little right now?"  
  
Hyunjoon shyly nodded, a small blush on his cheeks. He couldn't believe someone wanted to take care of him.  
  
"Well then, do you want to get changed and see what I bought for you, baby boy?"  
  
Hyunjoon nodded again, reaching out to grab Kihyun's extended hand and started playing with his fingers. The fascinated look in his eyes made Kihyun coo and wonder how old he actually was when he slipped. They needed to talk about a lot of stuff, but the boy's health came first.  
  
"Baby boy, do you want to come with me?"  
  
"Yes." The boy mumbled shyly, averting his eyes. He had obviously almost completely regressed and it made the elder feel successful. Hyunjoon was now an incredibly shy baby. He couldn't really walk properly and had to use the smaller for support. Their height difference didn't make it weird for Kihyun, he had practically adopted the little in his head. It took them a while, but they eventually reached the living room.  
  
The elder took the basic little space stuff he had bought online out of the closet and picked out what he thought the boy needed. Hyunjoon had sat down quietly and played with the strings of his sweater, occasionally sucking on them.  
  
"Hey, baby boy. Look over here please." Kihyun held his phone and took a picture of the boy as he looked at him and the stuff in front of him. He looked so happy and his innocent eyes sparkled.  
  
"Do you want to try this on?" The elder asked pointing to a bunny onesie in front of him, but the boy wasn't listening, he was captivated by a fluffy tiger onesie. He stretched out a finger to poke it, but hesitated last minute, looking at Kihyun for approval. He still looked a little tense.  
  
"Do you want to wear that one?"  
  
The boy nodded, his hair bouncing up and down. As Kihyun changed the boy into the onesie, he felt the little relax around him.  
  
"Rawr." Little Hyunjoon roared cutely as he imitated a tiger, his sweater paws almost hitting Kihyun as he pretended to attack him.  
  
"Oh no, a cute baby tiger, what do I do?" The tiger giggled at the other's overacting. "I need to ... tickle you." The boy squealed as Kihyun started tickling him. "Now, I've got you, baby tiger. Want to check out some other gifts?"  
  
"Rawr."  
  
"Okay, let's go."  
  
Back in the living room, Kihyun picked up a pacifier with a drawing of a kitten on it and popped it in Hyunjoon's mouth. The boy's eyes were drooping a little, but he absolutely loved the design, saying kitty over and over again once he saw it. He really loved cats. As last gift for the day, the elder gave the boy a cute kitten plushie, making him shine. He looked completely content, snuggled up to Kihyun in his tiger onesie and with his pacifier and plushie. He thought the younger was falling asleep, but that wasn't the case. The little nuzzled his pacifier against Kihyun's cheek as a kiss and mumbled a thank you around his pacifier before falling asleep for real. It was honestly totally adorable. Hyunjoon fell asleep really quickly after that. Shownu came back to the dorm about an hour later. The sight that greeted him was so cute he couldn't help but smile. Kihyun had fallen asleep as well, his arms protectively wrapped around the little.

"Show'u?" The little boy had woken up and was now staring at the other with wide eyes, the only movement he made was softly sucking on his pacifier.

"Did you wake up, baby boy?" Kihyun whispered softly.

Hyunjoon nodded sleepily, clearly not completely awake, and began to play with his plushie.

"He really is a baby, isn't he?"

"It's absolutely adorable, isn't it?"

Shownu and Kihyun spoke at the same time, causing them to laugh. The little tilted his head, looking from one to the other curiously, before reaching his free hand towards the eldest.

"I think he wants you to carry him, hyung."

Shownu, utterly clueless on what to do, allowed Kihyun to settle the boy in his arms. He looked a lot smaller now, Shownu was taller and a lot more muscular. He lifted the boy up with ease, eyebrows furrowing at how little he weighed, sending Kihyun a knowing glance before occupying himsef with the boy in his arms. He booped the little's nose, getting an adorable rawr in return, but Hyunjoon got sleepy very quickly and fell asleep in the other's arms.

By the time the other Monsta X members came back, he was waking up, clearly out of little space. He was a little disoriented and embarrassed, a small blush on his cheeks. He carefully put the items he used in little space back where they came from and asked to change in the bathroom. As he came out, the seven older idols were cooing over the videos and pictures Kihyun and Shownu had made.

"Hey, Joonie?"

"Yes?"

"I hope I wasn't a bad caregiver."

"You were amazing, Kihyun. I don't think there exist better caregivers. And you also helped Shownu well, even though he did good on his own." Hyunjoon's words were spoken softly, he sounded very sincere, but he was a little shy, avoiding Kihyun's eyes.

"Thank you, you were a great little too."

"I ... uhm ... thank you?" He suddenly got extremely shy and turned bright red.

"Did I make the baby embarrassed?"

"Hey, shut up."

"Cute." Kihyun cooed.

They continued to talk about a lot of stuf. They needed to make sure it would be safe for Hyunjoon to slip and discussed what he needed and such. It took them a while before they had a basic outline of rules, necessities and boundaries. When they were finished, Kihyun grabbed a phone from the table. "Here's your phone, I took it from you when you slipped and silenced it, but there are some messages."

"Okay, thank you, really. ... Oh no, I should be going back. What do I tell them?" There was panic in the expression of the youngest.

"You don't have to tell them anything if you don't want to. We'll always be here for you to slip. Although it would be safe if you told someone within your group. He doesn't need to become your caregiver, but he could call someone if something's wrong. Do you have someone in mind?" Shownu spoke, tone gentle to keep the boy calm.

"Why are you hesitating? You can tell us, you know, we won't make fun of you." Kihyun joined in.

"Yes, I have someone in mind, but I'm afraid to tell him."

"Who is it and why are you doubting?"

"It's Hyunjae, but it's a little complicated."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you are blushing. That's so cute. Do you like him?" Minhyuk butted in, getting a small nod out of the boy. "Ah, young love."

"Shut up, Minhyuk, we should worry about our baby's little crush."

"I don't think it's a little crush."

"Stop it." Hyunjoon whined, hiding his face in the closest thing, which happened to be Hoseok (aka Wonho) 's chest.

"You're cute." The latter said while hugging the boy, feeling him melt in his embrace. He really was adorable.

"I should be getting back and I should tell Hyunjae, but this is too comfortable."

"You should tell him about your feelings too if he accepts you." Kihyun said.

"I'm not telling him I'm in love with him." Hyunjoon almost shouted, turning as red as a tomato when he realised what he said.

"Oh, it goes that deep? You must have liked him for a while then."

"For over a year and stop questioning me about it, hyungie. Kihyunie is not nice." He pouted, pulling out all his aegyo.

"We won't ask anything anymore, we surrender, just don't pout, please. It's way too cute, we won't be able to let you leave if you do. Your prince charming would have to save you. ... Oh, it's aready pretty late. We should get you back. I'll ask our manager to drop you off at your dorm."

"Actually, can I be dropped off at that cafe we went to? I'll meet Hyunjae there before I chicken out."

"Whatever you wish for, baby boy."

"I'm not little, Shownu." He whined.

"But you're still a baby boy."

About half an hour later, Hyunjoon sat at a table at the café, waiting for Hyunjae to arrive.

"Hey, Joonie. What's wrong?"

"Hi, hyung." Even with all the pep talk he got from Monsta X, the boy still felt like running away.

"You don't have to tell me what's going on, but you made me worried. Is it something bad? Did someone hurt you?" Worry was evident in Hyunjae's voice and it made the younger feel guilty. He had kept his messages pretty vague, after all, so it was no wonder the other was worrying.

"It's nothing bad, hyungie, at least not for me. You might not like it though."

"Oooh, are you secretly dating someone? Is it an idol? Do I have to protect you from her evil ex-boyfriends?"

"Hyungie, I'm single and I'm more interested in boys. It has nothing to do with romance." Hyunjoon giggled a little, having relaxed.

"You're interested in boys?" Hyunjae asked, a little curious.

"And girls, but that doesn't really matter now."

"It's the same for me." The elder smiled, quickly frowning again as he noticed how off-topic they were. "Then why did you want to talk to me?"

"I ... I'm a little, hyung, and I slip from time to time. You don't have to take care of me or anything like that. I just ... My caregivers wanted someone who could contact them when I slip. I know I won't be able to contact them myself every time, because I can't use a phone in little space and I have periods where I resent my little self which makes me draw my regression out." Hyunjoon rambled, clearly nervous and afraid of what his hyung would think."

"Can I ask some things?" Hyunjae's tone was gentle and serious, all playfulness gone.

"..."

"You don't have to answer when you aren't comfortable. I just think it's better if I hear it from you instead of reading about it online. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, it is, hyung." Hyunjoon was getting nervous and continued to anxiously tap his fingers on the table. Hyunjae grabbed his hand and gently laced their fingers together. The other blushed furiously at that, always getting a little embarrassed when the elder did things like that. He was usually able to hide it because there were fans taking pictures or the others were around, but when that it was just the two of them, he couldn't hide it at all. Hyunjae, oblivious as always, didn't notice and thought it was because of the whole little space thing.

"What does that little space thing mean to you?"

"Well, it's ... like ... When I feel stressed, it's a way to cope for me. It helps me relax and I feel less stressed afterwards."

"What is little space actually?"

"Why didn't you start with that?" The younger giggled a little, it was a weird order of questions.

"I first wanted to know what it does for you so that I could judge it based on that instead of judging it without knowing why you do it. I don't want to have any prejudices."

"Oh ... okay. Little space is some kind of headspace. A little is basically someone who acts younger than their actual age, mostly going back to some age before ten years old."

"How old are you when you slip? Is that the right word?"

"Yes, hyung, and do I have to tell you? It's embarrassing." The boy whined, hiding his flushed face in his arms.

"Awe, is my little Joonie shy? ... Are you so embarrased because little Joonie is very young?"

"Shut up, hyungie."

"So you are really young, come on, I want to know more."

"Uhm, I am mostly around 1 year old, I think. I pretty much go non-verbal most of the time. Like, I can understand most of what people are saying, I can respond with gestures and I can make some sounds, but that's where it ends."

"Is that why you need caregivers?"

"Yes, I literally can't take care of myself when I'm little so I need someone to do it for me. I actually just want to stop being a little so that no one has to worry about being my caregiver, but I have almost no control over it when I'm stressed, frustrated or tired. I need to slip to avoid slipping in front of all of you."

"How long have you had a caregiver?"

"I have a few caregivers ever since today." The giddiness in the boy's expression as he said it was adorable, he looked really happy about it.

"How long have you known about your little space?"

"A few years by now."

"So you've been a little for that long without a caregiver?"

"I ... yes?"

"Why now?"

"Well, they figured it out a few weeks ago, I think, and they offered today. I also instantly slipped around them. Afterwards we talked it out and they want to become my caregivers. They have enough space in their schedule for me to be little when I need to be."

"Who are these caregivers?"

"Kihyun and Shownu."

"From Monsta X?" Hyunjae was really surprised now. He didn't expect Hyunjoon's caregivers to be his seniors. Although he should have expected it when he thought about it. They did look out for him that day. "What about the others?"

"They don't really know if they want to be a caregiver or if they just want to play around with me when I'm little. It's mostly because they don't think they can take care of me and because they weren't there when I slipped."

"But if they are famous, will you be able to slip enough?"

"I can get by with a few hours a month if I need to, so that's no problem."

"Are there any tells for when you slip? Like things I have to pay attention to?"

"There are a few, I think, but I don't slip enough to know what those are. I can tell I am really dropping when I feel my mindset completely convert to that of a child, but I can be on the edge of slipping for a while without actually slipping."

"Would you prefer to be babied less when you are on edge? Because you can always tell me if I need to stop pampering you."

"I'll tell you when it gets too much."

"I have only one last question, but I'm not sure if you want to hear it." Hyunjae was suddenly a bit bashful and nervous as he anxiously tapped his foot.

"What is it?" The younger was really curious. He literally had no idea what the other was going to ask and why he would act that way.

"Can I be there when you slip? Just once is enough, if that's all you are comfortable with, but I ... it sounds totally adorable."

"You want to see me in little space?"

"Yes."

"You won't hate me?"

"Of course not, you're my favourite dongsaeng, how could I possibly hate you?"

"Well, I think you can come, if you want to."

"Thank you." Hyunjae cheered on the inside. He already found Hyunjoon incredibly cute, so the idea of seeing him in little space made his heart jump in anticipation.

 

Things within the rookie group went well for a while. Everything was fine, there were some disputes, but nothing really bad. Everything was back to normal. Hyunjae occasionally played with little Joonie, the latter always a lot more flustered afterwards. They always did it in the dorm from Monsta X though, to avoid the others finding out. Hyunjoon still had a crush on his hyung, even in little space. Everyone in Monsta X proved to be amazing caregivers, they made time when necessary and immediately solved things if they went wrong. There were enough supplies for little Joonie in their dorm and they had given him a small emergency package for in the dorm from the Boyz. Hyunjoon also accepted his little space a lot better now. He just needed a little push to accept himselg. Apparently, he knew some littles in the Philippines, but he never came out to them. He also slipped more, which made him more relaxed and he actually enjoyed being a little. The Boyz still didn't know though, only Hyunjae, Monsta X and a few of Monsta X' managers. Those last ones were bound to find out one day and helped cover up for them. What they didn't notice was that with Hyunjoon slipping more regularly, he acted less like a baby in his big headspace. He didn't stop acting like that altogether, he was just chicer and less like a baby than before. The ten members who didn't know, missed this side of him and blamed themselves for this change.

Then Monsta X had to go on a world tour and they couldn't take care of little Joonie. Hyunjae now had full responsibility. He took good care of the boy, allowing him to slip when they had time, but without Monsta X and with another upcoming comeback, there simply wasn't enough time. One of Monsta X's managers helped theirs from time to time, but he couldn't do anything for the little. This brought Hyunjoon's old behaviour back. He acted more like a baby and was a lot clingier. The other members were happy that their chic baby was back to normal, but Hyunjae became more and more worried.

It was a week before their comeback when the inevitable happened. Hyunjoon hadn't fully slipped in almost three weeks and he was very stressed. Everyone was, they were also tired and there was this one very frustrating move they couldn't get down. Sangyeon snapped at all of them, multiple times, prolonging their dance practice by hours. Changmin had gotten a little fed up as well, but he hid it, wanting to avoid what happened last time they had all snapped and what happened to Hwall. The more tired they were, the harder it was for them to hide their anger and frustration though. To Hyunjae, it was obvious Hwall was trying not to slip. He pinched himself, avoided physical contact and kept going, no matter what. But being on the edge of little space, he was a little clumsy. He lost a lot of his coordination when he became little, so being on the edge made him clumsy. Being tired only worsened that. Somewhere halfway through the song, he stumbled and couldn't catch himself in time. He quickly tried to get up. His legs were a bit shaky and he was biting his bottom lip harshly till it bled, but everything else was fine. This made Changmin propose to take a small break, knowing they couldn't go on in this state, not Hyunjoon nor anyone else. Sangyeon didn't seem to agree though.

"Jesus, Hyunjoon can't you do anything right? I know it's late, but we are all trying. So just pay attention and don't fall. We can't have a clumsy idol. Or one that acts like a baby. Seriously, you started acting like a baby more and the level of your skill goes down at the same time. Get yourself together! Babies don't belong here!" No one had seen Sangyeon this furious so far. The leader came closer to Hyunjoon, who had sat down on the floor, and slapped him. There was a red print on his cheek where Sangyeon had hit him. It took a while for everyone to comprehend what had just happened, so no one noticed the look of panic on Hyunjae's face as he saw the younger who had been fighting his little space as hard as he could, lose control because of the shock.

After a moment of silence, Hyunjoon suddenly started crying, not his usual silent way of crying, but a more childish way of crying. He was full on sobbing and had moved into a foetal position. Hyunjae quickly went towards him and pulled him on his lap. The others looked with looks that varied from worry to curiosity to endearment as Hyunjae easily calmed the boy. Once the boy stopped crying, he looked at his hyung and tilted his head. Hyunjae followed and they played around a little like that, caught up in their own world. The little suddenly stopped playing and looked at his hyung with sad eyes.

"Sowwy, Jaejae, sowwy." It were Joonie's first words after the breakdown. His voice sounded small, sad and a bit higher than usual. He also couldn't articulate his words very well.

"But there's nothing to be sorry for, kitten."

"Tewe's not?"

"Everything is fine, kitten, now let me look at your lip."

The others were astonished as they saw Hyunjae in caregiver mode. They had no idea what was going on. The way he was handling Hyunjoon was completely different from how he usually handled him. Jacob was endeared by it, Juyeon and Sunwoo also melting at the sight, Kevin, Eric, Younghoon, Changmin and Chanhee had to keep themselves from cooing out loud, Juhaknyeon was baffled as he had no idea what was going on in front of him and Sangyeon looked expressionless. Their trance was broken when a manager entered the practice room to drag them out of it. They had been in there for too long and they needed rest. It was the manager who worked for Monsta X, so he quickly recognised the situation. He separated Hyunjae and Hyunjoon from the others and brought them to the dorm from Monsta X. Hyunjae had given the little his spare pacifier in the car, and once they were inside, he changed the almost asleep boy into a cute onesie after giving him a short bath, gave him his plushies and took care of his lip. He quickly showered himself when the little was asleep and grabbed some clothes he had worn when he was there before going back to cuddle his baby boy.

"Hyung, you need to wake up. Someone is blowing up your phone. Hyuuuuuuuung." The younger whined as he tried to wake the other up.

"Don't want to."

"I'm not going to answer them for you, hyungie, and I already have breakfast ready in the kitchen. Hyungie~~." He was full on pouting now, knowing Hyunjae couldn't refuse him if he did.

"Okay, okay, I will get up now, baby boy."

"Stop calling me baby boy when I'm not little."

"I mostly call you kitten when you're little though, I don't call you baby boy."

"It's still embarrassing."

Hyunjae checked his messages while the younger was whining.

"Oh, sh- I can't curse."

"What is it, hyungie?"

"The others want an explanation, as soon as possible. They are coming over in an hour. Should we call Monsta X in the meantime?"

"That might be good."

"Hey, look at me. Don't worry, baby boy. Everything will be fine and I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you, hyungie."

"Well then, let's see what that breakfast is and call Monsta X. We're only going to worry after that, do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir." Hyunjoon giggled, dragging the other to the kitchen where he had put the croissants the manager had left for them.


	2. The Aftermath

"What's going on? It isn't like you to call this late at night." Kihyun was worried. He had been called in the middle of the night by Hyunjae, and he could see an obviously not little Hyunjoon hang off his shoulders.  
  
"Do you have time, hyung?" Hyunjoon asked tentatively. "If you're too tired, we can call you back later or solve this ourselves."  
  
"No, no, I'm not too tired, we have a free day tomorrow, I mean today." He laughed. "What's going on?"  
  
"I slipped at practice today."  
  
"What happened?" It wasn't like the younger to slip just because he was feeling little, he always controlled it and only slipped if he was safe and there was someone who had time to take care of him and who wanted to.  
  
"Sangyeon hit me." His voice got smaller every time he said something and Kihyun didn't like it at all. What he liked even less was what he had said.  
  
"He did what?" Kihyun suddenly sounded a bit threatening, he was trying to keep his anger inside. Why would Sangyeon hit him? You can't just hit someone, and certainly not someone younger and more vulnerable, although Sangyeon didn't know just how vulnerable he was. It was unforgivable, Sangyeon should be happy Monsta X was touring or else something bad would have happened.  
  
"Joonie stumbled and fell. That's when Sangyeon snapped at him and hit him. The shock made him slip, I guess."  
  
"Oh, are you alright now?"  
  
"Yes, I was just feeling little all day, but there was no free time. I was on the verge of slipping for half of the dance practice."  
  
"Hyunjae, why didn't you get him out of there? You must have been able to do something." Kihyun sounded a little accusing now, making Hyunjae feel bad, but the latter had no other option but to keep practising.  
  
"Sangyeon was so pissed that if I had tried to get Joonie out of there, he would have snapped harder than he normally does. He would've certainly slipped if I tried to do so. The others would also be asking questions because why would he even leave practice and why would I go with him? Skipping any of the lessons or practices also wasn't an option because our comeback is next week. If I knew Sangyeon would hit him I would've just dragged him out of practice, but I didn't know. I never expected him to do that. He was getting better, there were less harsh comments, but I didn't dare to think he would get physical." Hyunjae was obviously still shaken up from what had happened.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. It's okay, your option was the best option." He felt guilty for sounding so accusing when it had always been obvious that Hyunjae only wanted the best for Hyunjoon.  
  
"Kihyunie?"  
  
"Yes, what's wrong?"  
  
"I ... Is it alright if you're here when we tell the others? They are going to need an explanation, but I would rather wait till you are here, if you want to talk about it."  
  
"Of course, we will be back in a week and a half, will you be able to get through that?"  
  
"As long as Hyunjae is here, I'll be fine." He smiled, a barely noticable blush on his cheeks.  
  
"Can you fill Shownu in on this? The others will be here soon and we will need to discuss what we'll say."  
  
"No problem and stay strong! You can do it."  
  
"Thanks." Kihyun's cute cheering made them laugh and lessened their nerves a little. They knew they could always rely on him and the rest of Monsta X, no matter what happened with the others.  
  
"Bye!"  
  
"Bye!"  
  
The call ended and the two were left behind to clean up after their breakfast. They decided they were going to ask the others to wait till their small break two and a half weeks into the promotions for their comeback. Monsta X would be back and there would be enough time to explain it to the others and to assess their reactions.  
  
"Dingdong." The doorbell sounded, cutting through the comfortable silence between the pair.  
  
"I'll open it."  
  
"I'm coming with you hyungie, I don't think I'll slip."  
  
"Okay, but tell me one way or another if you feel yourself becoming little."  
  
"Sure hyungie."  
  
"Alright, let's do this."  
  
"Hi?" Outside the door stood the ten remaining members, their main manager and the manager from Monsta X who was helping out. They looked a bit awkward, apart from the last one who just smiled a little and gave them a reassuring nod. Hyunjae had already texted him about their plan.  
  
"Hi!" Hyunjoon appeared behind Hyunjae, looking cute and happy as he waved at them, although his nerves were still pretty obvious, or that could be just Hyunjae who spent way too much time looking at the other.  
  
The others visibly relaxed at the upbeat smile on Hyunjoon's face. They were feeling so guilty about what happened and the fact that they had to wait only worsened it.  
  
The twelve idols quickly went inside and settled in the living room, both managers were waiting outside.  
  
"Hyunjoon, I'm really sorry I blew up at you like that." Sangyeon sounded earnest as he said that, his eyes trained on the ground in front of the young dancer's feet.  
  
"It's okay, hyungie, just watch your stress levels."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You're too stressed, aren't you? It's a little obvious. Just find a way to get rid of it, okay? You probably won't snap like that anymore then."  
  
"Oh, but I already tried so much and nothing seems to be working."  
  
"Then we'll try harder."  
  
"Did you already try the little space thingy we talked about?" Chanhee asked.  
  
"I'm not a little, nor is anyone in this group and it's disgusting. You found so too, didn't you?" Sangyeon looked at some of the boys, keeping eyecontact.  
  
"I just said it seems a little unnatural." Chanhee whispered, "but I feel bad if I talk like that. Those littles don't deserve it."  
  
"I just still don't understand a thing, if you know what I mean. I can only judge it if I see it in real life and from what we read about it, you would probably like the role of a caregiver." Juyeon said, completely clueless to the astonished look Sangyeon sent him.  
  
"I think you broke hyung, hyung." Sunwoo said before scrunching his nose as he noticed the two hyung's in the sentence. "You know who I mean."  
  
They continued to propose random stress relieving methods, from hiking "You can hike up the stairs, hyung." "That's not going to help, Eric." to drugs "Sheesh, Kevin, where would we even get those?" "I heard someone talking about a bar in Gangnam where they sell it for a reasonable price." "You're not going there." "I would never, hyung."  
  
In the meantime, Changmin was watching Hyunjoon and Hyunjae. The latter hadn't said a word ever since he let them in. He was just looking at the other boy worriedly. The only thing he did was link their pinkies and giving the boy reassuring looks once in a while, but more frequently when they were talking about little space. It would make sense for Hwall to be a little with the incident from the day before, but that still didn't sounf quite right. There was something he was missing.  
  
"Hey, Hyunjoonie, are you okay? You looked pretty spooked out yesterday."  
  
"Yes, I'm fine." He smiled a little, his cuteness appearing, making them coo. They didn't talk about what happened in the practice room. It seemed like most of them had forgotten about it. Half of the group didn't know what little space was, Changmin knew that from previous conersations, and it seemed like those who knew had no idea what it actually meant. They were more aware of the sexual side while the non-sexual side honestly sounded so cute to him, he was really curious. It seemed like Hyunjoon had slipped when Sangyeon slapped him and that Hyunjae was his caregiver, but things still didn't add up. The others were completely clueless. They thought Sangyeon scared Hyunjoon which made him cry and that he was just tired when he was playing around with Hyunjae, their memories were a little foggy due to their fatigue. The fact that the manager had separated them, made them think that Hyunjoon might have needed something or that he didn't trust Sangyeon with him. It was only normal to bring Hyunjae along as he had been the one comforting him.  
  
"What do you mean you aren't telling us right now?" Sunwoo suddenly said. Oops, Changmin had gotten too lost in thought. He didn't want to tell them, why was that?  
  
"There are more people than just me involved, it wouldn't be fair for those people."  
  
"Hyunjae, can you tell us?" Younghoon asked.  
  
"I am with Joonie on this one, sorry."  
  
The mentioned boy just curled up on himself, not liking all the stares he got from the others. Hyunjae seemed to notice and just picked him up and settled him in his lap.  
  
"Why did you do that, hyungie~~" The younger whined, instinctively hiding his face in the other's chest and wrapping his limbs around him like an octopus.  
  
"Don't be cute~~" The other whined back, teasing him a little. It was a pretty usual sight, Hyunjoon was a very clingy person and Hyunjae complained the least if he was being trapped by that leech, or cuddle bug, as everyone called him when he wasn't listening. The normalcy of it all relieved them, things were not going to change after all.  
  
"Dingdong" The doorbell rang again, alarming those inside.  
  
"We have a dance practice, guys. Let's go."  
  
"I think you mean it's our Q to leave."  
  
"Oh my gosh, Kevin, shut up."  
  
The boyz snickered as they left for dance practice. Everything went a lot smoother than the day before and it didn't take long before they had their dance completely perfected. Normally, it already was drilled into their minds and bodies before the music video, but they had added an unexpected dance break in the middle of their performance. They had to record it the day afterwards, because it was a different atmosphere, there were a whole new set-up and clothes needed, and because it was only for the performance video, it wasn't immediately necessary to learn or shoot it.  
  
They had it down now though and they couldn't be happier. After that, everything went smooth. Their comeback went great, they didn't win, but were nominated a couple of times, attended a lot of variety shows and did different interviews.  
  
And then came the short break they had. Monsta X had come back and they were looking forward to playing with their little again.  
  
"Hi, we're here."  
  
"Hyunjae, baby boy, I missed you!" Minhyuk ran to them, hugging the two.  
  
"We missed you too." It came out a bit muffled because of the suffocating hug.  
  
"Hey, baby boy, come here, want to slip?" Kihyun cooed, making the boy worm his way out of Minhyuk's hug and grab Kihyun's hand to play with his fingers. Little Joonie seriously loved hands. No one knew why, but he always played with people's fingers or held someone's hand.  
  
Kihyun gently tugged his hand out of the boy's grip to hold his hand better. He softly dragged the obviously slipping little to one of the bedrooms where he changed him into a onesie, seeing him slip deeper and deeper. He also grabbed the boy's favourite pacifier, the kitty one, and his favourite plushie, a cat.  
  
"Our kitten is all set now, isn't he?" Kihyun cooed, seeing that Hyunjoon had slipped completely. "Can you get up?" He asked, dragging the boy till he sat upright. When he tried to get him to stand, it went a little wrong and they ended up in a bunch of entangled limbs on the bed, small giggles escaping their mouths.  
  
"Wonho, we need someone to carry our kitten!" Kihyun yelled, knowing he could never carry the boy all the way to the living room, Hyunjoon might be too light, but he was too tall.  
  
Wonho, or Hoseok, came quickly and picked the boy up with ease, he had carried him around a lot. Softly popping his pacifier back in his mouth, thank god they got him a pacifier clip or they would have been searching for it forever, the elder whispered sweet things to the boy, making him giggle and blush. Joonie babbled a little, making some noises he couldn't understand, but he ended it by saying " 'ank you, Wo'o" and it sounded so cute he melted at the spot. But alas, they reached the living room and he had to give up the baby.  
  
"Awe, kitten, you look so cuuuute, Minhyukie missed you a lot."  
  
"Oo'ie missed Mimi too."  
  
Shownu just stood there in the doorway, watching the little have fun with the others when Kihyun joined him. He loved how cute their interactions were and he really felt like Hyunjoon's parent when the boy was little. When he was big it was just a lot of affection for a younger brother, but little Joonie was his kid. He knew it was the same for Kihyun, although the latter was more emotional and less rational, and it was similar for the other members, but in a lighter form. Hyunjae was a different case though. From what Hyunjoon told him when he was big, Hyunjae was his favourite hyung and best friend. They talked to each other about almost everything and they knew each other the best. They never refused each other's affection when they were alone and they could read each other like no one else could. When Joonie was little, he always sat close to Hyunjae, next to Kihyun and Shownu, he trusted him the most. Hyunjae seemed like a normal caregiver at first sight. He took care of little Joonie and couldn't resist his pout. But if you looked closer, there was a tiny difference in his behaviour. It didn't seem like he felt like a parent, he was on some thin line. He blushed when the little decided to be bold and give him some sort of affection and he absolutely loved complimenting the little. He also figured out tiny quirks a lot quicker and helped them with knowledge about big Hyunjoon when they needed it. Right now, Joonie was settled in between Hyunjae's legs and he hugged his plushie as they were watching some sort of aegyo play Jooheon had come up with to surprise the little, he started to wing it at some point though and now Minhyuk was roped into playing an amazing magic knight with a Batman mask and armed with a flashlight. His character was called Jaejae and he had to save Joojoo (Jooheon), a lion prince who had been kidnapped by Hyungwon, who played Wonwon, the evil warlock with the invisibility cape (it was actually a Mölang blanket). There was a heroic fight where Wonho was the referee and Changkyun was doing something that involved laughing like an evil witch. Jaejae won the fight and gave Joojoo a big smooch on the forehead. The little's giggles were uncontrollable as he squealed.  
  
"They totally ship it." Kihyun said, making Shownu jump. He had forgotten that he was standing there. "I like it. They should date when they are ready for it and the company approves. It's obvious they have been dancing around each other for a while now, but as long as it doesn't hurt them, it's fine."  
  
In the meantime, Joonie was thanking everyone for making the play. He nuzzled their cheeks with his pacifier when they sat in front of him, giving Jooheon two because he made the play. He ended up nuzzling Hyunjae's cheeks too, claiming he was his Jaejae, before hiding his blush with his hands, Hyunjae just froze and his ears became red.  
  
" 'yungie saved 'oonie." The little suddenly mumbled, his adorable lisp prominent, as he curled up on the other's lap. He suddenly sounded a little sad and the atmosphere in the room dropped.  
  
"Oh, kitten, hyungie will always protect you, okay?"  
  
"Pinky pwomise?"  
  
"Pinky promise."  
  
Once the little was reassured, he fell asleep on Hyunjae's lap. The only sound was the little softly sucking on his pacifier while he was sleeping. The others had gone completely silent before, they had no idea what could have happened that actually affected their kitten like that.  
  
"I'm glad he's doing okay." Shownu said and sat down next Hyunjae, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Does he still want to tell the others about his little space?"  
  
"He was pretty sure of it yesterday and this morning. He wanted to discuss some things with all of you if he wakes up out of little space. And I think those who aren't positive about little space in the group, don't know what it actually is. There might be some negative reactions, but less than he feared."  
  
"That's good. When does he want to tell them?"  
  
"He said he wanted to tell them tomorrow morning. That way those who want nothing to do with it, have time to get over it before we have to start performing again and those who are curious can see what it actually is in an environment that's safe for little Joonie. That's why he wants all of you here, and because he thinks it isn't fair if you aren't there when we tell them because you're all involved."  
  
"Why does he want to tell them now?" Minhyuk asked, he was very curious. Hwal had been very adamant about not telling the others, absolutely terrified of them finding out.  
  
"There was an incident during dance practice a few weeks ago."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Joonie had been on edge for a while and he was very tired. He still kept control over his headspace, but he stumbled and fell. Sangyeon snapped at him and slapped him. It made him slip in front of everyone."  
  
"Oh, what did you do?"  
  
"I took care of him, made sure he was okay, and your manager brought us here to give us space. We postponed telling them because he wanted you to be here."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Why are you so surprised?" Hyunjoon suddenly asked. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He had woken up somewhere in the middle of their conversation and he was completely out of little space. To avoid slipping again because of the onesie and other little stuff, he went out of the room to change and came back in jeans and an oversized sweater.  
  
"Is something wrong?" He asked when he came in as he tilted his head adorably, everyone was watching him weirdly and he didn't know why.  
  
"No, you just look cuuuuute." Hyunjae cooed.  
  
"Shut up, hyung." He said but it had no bite to it. He settled on the floor between Kihyun and Shownu. "I just wanted to ask you if you were okay with what Hyunjae said. If you don't want to do it that way, you don't have to."  
  
"But it's the best way of telling them, Hyunjoonie." Changkyun said. "It's safe for you and it has a solution for every single reaction."  
  
"It's okay with all of us, you know. We wanted to propose something like this ourselves." Shownu added.  
  
"Really? Thank you so much." The boy smiled as all his caregivers were willing to help him come out as a little to the others. His innocent smile made everyone melt, but the moment was interrupted by a phone call.  
  
"What is it, Juyeon?" Hyunjae asked when he picked up.  
  
"We're having an impromptu dance practice now, can you come and bring Hyunjoon with you?"  
  
"Yes, I can. No problem. But why now?"  
  
"We apparently had to have a dance practice tomorrow or today and we decided to do it today because you and Joonie were going to tell us what is going on tomorrow."  
  
"Thank you, it'll mean a lot to him. We'll see you there!"  
  
Hyunjae ended the call and explained the situation to Hyunjoon.  
  
"Let's go, hyungie! Practice will keep my mind from worrying, let's do this!" He cheered, cuteness appearing tenfold in an attempt at lifting the atmosphere. Monsta X really didn't want to let go of their baby. They wanted tospend time with Hyunjoon when ha was big. They rarely did that because there was hardly any time for them to meet up due to conflicting schedules. When they met up, Hyunjoon usually slipped. They might be his caregivers, but that didn't mean they only wanted to spend time with him when he was little. Hwall was also nice company when he was big.  
  
"Bye hyungs, see you tomorrow!" The two yelled.  
  
"Bye, stay safe." Kihyun yelled back at the two younger boys.  
  
They arrived at the company and dance practice begun. It was just a normal dance practice, nothing special, but Hyunjoon's focus was a bit off from time to time.  
  
"Hey, Joonie, what's worrying you?" Changmin asked during a break. "You seem a bit distracted."  
  
"I'm just ..."  
  
"You're worried about tomorrow, is that it?"  
  
The boy only nodded in response, eyes a little downcast.  
  
"There's no need, I'll always accept you, no matter what, and I already have a little hunch, but I didn't tell anyone. I don't think you'll have to be scared of our reactions." He said, gently hugging the younger.  
  
"Thank you." The boy just snuggled further into Changmin's embrace, shortly meeting Hyunjae's eyes and having a silent conversation. This didn't go unnoticed by most of the group, as they were paying attention to their eldest 00-liner. They were a little worried and curious as to what was going on with their chic baby, but he seemed to be doing better and Hyunjae has been continuously looking after him. After the break, dance practice continued on without any incidents. They went to the dorm afterwards, freshened theirselves up and they ate before sitting down for their 5-minute talk.  
  
"About tomorrow, how exactly are you planning on telling us?" Changmin asked. They had discussed it before, when Hyunjae and Hyunjoon were gone, and it seemed best for Changmin to tackle the issue.  
  
"Uhm, I wanted to ask you to come to the Monsta X dorm, if that's okay?"  
  
"Yes, it is. If it makes you more comfortable, we will most certainly do that. We care about you, you know, and we are worried about you."  
  
"You are? Why?"  
  
"We were just worried when you started acting less like a baby and chicer over the past few months."  
  
"I did?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry to worry you."  
  
"Don't be sorry, it's only natural." Jacob smiled gently as he said that. "We just want to take care of you, you're still a part of our maknae line and we feel like we don't spoil you enough." Hyunjoon blushed as he heard these words and he started picking at his fingers.  
  
"Awe, are you embarrassed?" Kevin cooed.  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"Cuuute." This only made the younger curl up and take residence on Hyunjae's lap, hiding his face in his chest. It was something he seemed to be doing more often now.  
  
"We'll drop the issue now, go to sleep and we'll find out tomorrow what it is, goodnight everyone." Sangyeon concluded the conversation and sent everyone to bed. They all fell asleep quickly due to their exhaustion and were woken up early in the morning by Hyunjae yelling 'Mwohaseyo!!!".  
  
He was in the kitchen with Hyunjoon. They were waiting for the others to get ready to go to Monsta X's dorm. The seven seniors were already awake and waiting while calming Hwall's nerves on the phone. He really needed it. Hyunjae was shielding him from everyone in the meantime. Once everyone was finished, they piled into different vans who drove them to their destination. Hyunjoon, Hyunjae, Jacob and Changmin were in one van. The tension could be cut with a knife, even though it didn't show. They were all looking out the window, no words were spoken and their expressions were blank. Luckily, the ride was only about five minutes, so they were quickly out of the van and onto Monsta X's porch. The expressions on most of their faces were grim or curious, although there were also nerves because Monsta X were their seniors, they looked up to them and they didn't know them well.  
  
"Hi, welcome to our humble abode." Minhyuk said as he opened the door, quickly hugging Hwall before pushing him in some direction, telling him to go to the living room. He then did some awkward handshake thing with Hyunjae before bringing him inside with the other idols in tow. He guided them to what they supposed was the living room. There was a lot of furniture pushed against the wall and seven people were sitting on the ground. Monsta X were in a row, with a gap where Minhyuk sat down. Shownu was on one side of the row and Kihyun on the other. Next to Kihyun sat Hyunjoon, he was nervously fiddling with his fingers while softly talking to the elder. Kihyun signaled Hyunjae take the place on the boy's other side, his presence calming him a little more. Shownu was just observing them, giving them an encouraging smile when they looked at him. When he noticed the ten awkward idols standing in the doorway, he gestured Changmin to sit next to him, having already met him through Dispatch, and the others followed till a circle was formed.  
  
The silence was awkward. No one dared to speak until Kihyun suddenly threw a pillow in Sangyeon's face, his expression furious. Most of Monsta X looked a little amused, Shownu tried to stop himself from grinning but he couldn't. Hyunjoon just watched and somehow managed to migrate to Hyunjae's lap without anyone noticing him move.  
  
"Why did you do that, sunbaenim?" Sangyeon asked, confusion clear in his voice.  
  
"You deserved it. Be glad you are having a comeback and that there's an innocent, pure baby here or you would have gotten a lot worse things thrown at you sprinkled with curse words."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Are you going to act all innocent now? You hurt him, didn't you? I clearly remember those two over there telling me all about how you've been treating him. Being extra harsh on him, getting angry at him, almost insulting him and hitting him, who do you think you are?"  
  
"He's in my group and under my responsibility. Why do you even care?"  
  
"I seem to care more about him than you do." Everything got quiet as Kihyun said that, there was a challenge in his eyes. He forced Sangyeon to acknowedge how he had been acting. There were two options for Sangyeon, he could accept what Kihyun said or he tried to object, but he had no arguments. He could also stay quiet, so that's what he did. He shut his mouth and sat back down. Somewhere in the midde of their small fight the both of them had gotten up.  
  
The Boyz looked in surprise at their leader, they technically knew what he had done and how he acted, but it shocked them that he couldn't refute what Kihyun had said. On the other side of the circle, there was high fiving and Kihyun ruffled Hyunjoon's hair, making him lean into his touch. As the Boyz observed how natural their interactions were, they got a little jealous. It was cute how the boy loved affection, but it only made them realise just how little affection they had been giving him and how he avoided their affection a lot the past months. Hyunjae somehow still had him on his lap, even with all the crowding and the hugs, he just didn't let go, and it was normal to the senior idols. They had adapted theirselves to it, as if Hyunjae's lap was Hyunjoon's permanent residence. Their mood dropped a whole lot as they observed them, their hidden card's smile wide and open, eyes so innocent and sparkly. It was a look they had almost forgotten existed, if not for fan accounts or their own reality shows.  
  
"Can you stop coddling him now, I thought he had something to tell us." Sangyeon interrupted, a jealous edge to his tone.  
  
"What does that have to do with coddling him? He's a baby boy, of course we should take care of him. He can still tell you if we suffocate him with hugs."  
  
"Minhyuk, if we suffocate him, he can't breathe and he won't be able to say a thing." Changkyun deadpanned.  
  
"I meant that in a metaphorical way, not litterally." He whined at his maknae. "You know that."  
  
Shownu just pinched the bridge of his nose as he saw what was going on. Kihyun had latched himself onto Hyunjoon's right arm, the latter sat in Hyunjae's lap and the two of them were looking in amusement at the teasing between Minhyuk and Jooheon, his new target after Changkyun attacked him. The maknae was just laughing that evil stepmother laugh which earned him a sleepy glare from Hyungwon, who had woken up early and stayed half awake for Hyunjoon's sake. The other ten the Boyz members just sat there, looking in bewilderment at what was in front of them. Next to him sat Changmin. He had that lost look in his eyes that made you want to coddle him in a little brother kind of way. Noticing that the teasing wasn't going to stop any time soon, Shownu decided to step in.  
  
"Calm down everyone, we didn't invite them to cause a ruckus." This made his members return to reality. The atmosphere got a bit awkward, 18 pairs of eyes focused on Hyunjoon. The latter loved attention, but this made him uncomfortable. Shownu noticed and held his gaze. He sent him an adorable, encouraging smile and he saw a small flash of determination form in his eyes.  
  
"I am a little." The statement was clear and it left a different array of reactions. Monsta X just looked proud, Hyunjae as well. Changmin just smiled as if he had expected it, Sangyeon was dumbfounded and most of the others showed various combinations of shock and curiosity.  
  
"Like, in the sexual way or ...?" Kevin asked, a little humour in his voice. Always one for lighting up the mood.  
  
"Of course not, he's a baby! Why would you even think that?" Chanhee played along, his annoyance amusing and eliciting a giggle out of Hyunjoon.  
  
"It was Eric who found all the articles on sexual little space, not me!"  
  
"Yah, hyung, don't throw me under the bus."  
  
"It's what you deserve, you heathen."  
  
"I'm sorry I can't recognise every single Beyonce song."  
  
"That's what I needed to hear."  
  
"Don't sound so accomplished. It's like you're my dad."  
  
"Maybe I am."  
  
"You made someone pregnant at the age of two?"  
  
"Who says I am not 120 years old instead of twenty? Maybe the company got the century wrong."  
  
"What the-"  
  
"No cursing in front if the baby!"  
  
"No cursing, you're a baby."  
  
Kihyun and Jacob spoke at the same time.  
  
"Mothers unite." Hwall whispered in Hyunjae's ear, causing him to break out in laughter.  
  
"I heard you, Joonie." Kihyun singsonged.  
  
"Save me, hyungie." The boy pouted at his hyung who just pushed him off his lap.  
  
"Nope, you brought this onto yourself." The fake look of betrayal and hurt on Hyunjoon's face was hilarious, but it didn't last long as Kihyun took note of his dropped defences and started tickling him. The boy giggled and tried to squirm out if the smaller's grip, somehow ending up on Shownu's lap.  
  
"Hi~" He smiled innocently at the other. Kihyun sat on his knees in front of them, hands ready to tickle.  
  
"No, don't do it. Not the puppy eyes." Hyunwoo was making a whole show out of avoiding looking in the boy's eyes, not wanting to get convinced by their fake innocence, the kid could be a tease if he wanted to. Nobody expected what happened next though. Shownu shoved Hyunjoon into Changmin's lap. The small squeak the younger let out as he was moved to the boy's lap and the high dolphin screech that escaped Changmin's mouth made Kihyun retreat back in shock. He was really surprised by whatever that was. The Boyz just looked as if it was the most normal thing ever, seemingly amused by Monsta X's shock.  
  
"Hi, Q-hyung~" And oh, if Changmin's heart wasn't already weak for the younger, he most certainly was now. The way he looked up at him with those catlike eyes, a mischievous little grin on his face, it would be too much for everyone's heart.  
  
"Don't hog him, Minnie, I want to hug him too." Kevin pouted before throwing himself at the pair. Slowly everyone got roped into the cuddle pile on the floor, there was barely enough space, but they made it work. Hyunjoon was in the middle squished between Hyunjae and Changmin. Monsta X were surrounding Hyunjae and the Boyz were mostly on the other side.  
  
"Hyunjoonie? What is little space actually? I know we all talked about it a few times, but it was never actually clear. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I just wanted to know." Juyeon asked.  
  
"It's basically a kind of coping mechanism where I regress to a young age."  
  
"So use it when you are stressed?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Hyunjoonie, who are your caregivers? Or do you have none?" Kevin butted in.  
  
"Uhm, Kihyunie and Shownu are my main caregivers, Hyunjae is also some kind of main caregiver but differently and the others are caregivers or people who entertain me when I am little."  
  
"What's so different about Hyunjae?"  
  
"I don't know, it feels different. Like Kihyun and Shownu feel different, but Hyunjae feels like a different kind of different, I guess?"  
  
"What?" Kevin really couldn't understand what he meant, not that anyone could.  
  
"I ... Kihyunie and Shownu are like my parents, Hyunjae is a very close brother and the others are friends or babysitters. I think that's the best way to describe it. But it still doesn't really fit, I have no idea how to call Hyunjae." The boy whined a little frustratedly. Behind him, the mentioned dancer just smiled fondly at the whine while most of Monsta X looked amused.  
  
"Why are they your caregivers and not us?" Jacob asked, his voice was soft as always, but he sounded a little hurt.  
  
"Monsta X found out and I told Hyunjae."  
  
"What do you mean by 'found out'? Aren't you supposed to have a caregiver before you slip?" Chanhee wondered.  
  
"I could live without a caregiver for years so I didn't think I needed one."  
  
"That's not healthy, when and how did you usually slip when you didn't have caregiver?"  
  
"Once a month, I would just lock myself in my room for a few hours and then I wouldn't slip anymore for the rest of the month. My maximum is two and a half months without actually slipping. But when I am on edge for a long time, I'll slip more easily."  
  
"When did he tell you, Hyunjae?" Juyeon asked.  
  
"He told me a few months ago."  
  
"After the passing out thing?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh, how long have you been his caregivers, sunbaenims?" Changmin asked, everything was adding up now.  
  
"We only took care of him the first time the day he told Hyunjae. We needed someone in the Boyz to know about it as quick as possible. We figured it out a few weeks earlier though." Shownu said.  
  
"How?" Hyunjoon asked and pouted. "You never told me."  
  
"That first night we met, you slipped, but you were too exhausted to remember it."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me~" He whined.  
  
"We ... Why didn't we tell him?"  
  
"I don't know, Kihyunie. I guess it slipped our minds."  
  
"Yeah, I had gotten that far, Minhyuk."  
  
"Sorry to interrupt you, but is there something we should know in case Hwallie slips around us?" Jacob asked.  
  
"Who isn't weirded out by this?" Kihyun asked. "If you are, please tell us and leave now. We need to have a safe environment to talk about this, it's really personal. If you aren't going to react, who would consider being a caregiver or at least playing with him in little space?" His eyes scanned the room. Some of the younger idols were deep in thought, while others were avoiding Hyunjoon's eyes. They were nervous and scared of how the others would answer. "Who considers taking care of him?"  
  
"I do." Changmin said.  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Jacob?"  
  
"What is it, Kevin?"  
  
"I knew it! I want to play with little Joonie too."  
  
"Anyone else? No? Okay, who has absolutely no idea what it actually means to be a caregiver for a little or what a little is at all? Please just raise your hand."  
  
Juyeon, Eric, Juhaknyeon, Younghoon and Chanhee raised their hands.  
  
"Those who didn't raise their hands can leave now." Kihyun sent Sunwoo and Sangyeon a silent glare as Shownu led them to the front door. He whispered something in Sangyeon's ear that made him gulp before closing the door and turning around.  
  
"So, now that that's cleared up, are there any questions?"  
  
"How old are you when you slip?" Kevin asked, he looked excited. "Come on, don't give me those looks." He pouted. "I just knew a few littles in Canada and they were adorable, but exhausting due to their age. They were five, which is the most tiring age ever." He slumped on the ground dramatically, causing a small giggle to escape Hwall's mouth. "Cuuute."  
  
"Stop pinching my cheek Hyunjae, you can't even see my face."  
  
"But Kevin's face tells me you're doing the cute giggly thing, baby boy."  
  
"Stop calling me baby boy, hyungie."  
  
"Nope, you are litterally a baby."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"You aren't denying it~"  
  
"Save me, Changminnie."  
  
"Sure thing, baby boy."  
  
"I ... why are you doing this? Kevin, will you save me?" He pouted, doing the puppy eyes until he caved in. Hwall then crawled over his member's bodies before curling up into Kevin's.  
  
"How are you so efficient in crawling over others? It's a skill I certainly don't have." Kevin said as he felt the younger boy melt into his embrace.  
  
"Yeah, you just kick people."  
  
"Shut up, Choi Chanhee, that was one time. But still, how old is Hyunjoonie when he slips?"  
  
"His little age varies a lot, but he's mostly around 1 year old. He sometimes goes non verbal, but he can never speak properly. He doesn't need diapers and such, but pacifiers and plushies are a must. The other things are on these papers. We made them after the first time and we have been adding to them. There's also a list of tells and triggers. I'll go change our baby boy now. You just take a look at it. When he's here, just play with him if you want, introduce yourself to him or just watch, it doesn't really matter as long as you don't do one of the 'don't's on the list. Okay?" Kihyun got a chorus of nods and affirmations as he took Hyunjoon's hand to guide him out of the room.  
  
Once in the bedroom, he took out his basic little stuff like he usually does, but something felt wrong.  
  
"Hey, baby boy, you can slip. There's nothing to be nervous about."  
  
"But I'm scared. They are all there. What if when I come in they-"  
  
"Don't think like that, angel. We'll ask everyone who hasn't taken care of little you to leave the room so that little you can meet them one by one. Is that alright with you, baby boy?"  
  
He nodded, but it was hardy visible, he was more focused on trying to keep the tears that came with his fear inside. Kihyun noticed though, but he knew he needed more confirmation than that small nod. It could have been a small unconcscious nod. He also needed the boy to cry, how bad that may sound. It would make slipping easier.  
  
"Use your words, baby boy."  
  
"Yes, that's alright with me hyungie." And he started crying. It was silent crying and the vocal was quick to hug the boy and whisper sweet nothings and reassurances. He calmed down after a few minutes, but there was still no sign of him slipping, so Kihyun deemed it okay to leave the boy alone for a whil to tell the others.  
  
"You stay here while I'll go and tell them, okay." Hyunjoon nodded and Kihyun left, arriving in the living room alone. He felt all the confused eyes on him and he understood now why the boy was so afraid. He was very shy and he got even more shy when he was in little space.  
  
"I assume he hasn't slipped yet?" Shownu asked, noticing the lack of little Joonie's presence.  
  
"He hasn't. Can everyone who hasn't met little Joonie yet please leave this room, you can wait in the hallway or the kitchen, but we need you out of here. It'll make him feel more comfortable."  
  
"Sure thing." Changmin responded cheerily and he dragged the others away. That boy truly was a blessing. He didn't ask any questions and he seemed to care a lot about others.  
  
Kihyun quickly got back to his room and was happy to find Hyunjoon staring at him with big innocent eyes. He was obviously halfway into little space. Changing him made him slip deeper and it didn't take long for the boy to slip completely. He was now on Kihyun's bed and wearing a tiger onesie. He had a new purple pacifier with a cartoon kitten on it and he was holding his favourite plushie, the cat he had gotten when he first slipped. It was the only plushie he didn't name.  
  
"Hey, kitten, do you think you can stand?" Kihyun asked, but the little only looked at him, not understanding what he meant.  
  
"Oh, is my kitten that little? Can you speak?"

Another blank stare.

"Can you use your words, Joonie? I need an answer, now." Kihyun sounded more stern now. He got an answer in the form of a small tap on his hand. It was a code they had developped before. If Joonie was too little to communicate, Kihyun would be more stern and force him a little out of little space to get a reaction out of him. A tap on the hand meant that he was too little to talk and could only understand a bit of what was happening around him. It was only the third time he had slipped that deep and Kihyun knew from experience that he needed a lot of attention and care when he was that young. He was also very sensitive. That might be a problem when the others wanted to see him. Even some of his own members had some trouble understanding Joonie when he was this little. He just hoped everything would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Exams and mandatory family parties have kept me very busy :(  
> And thank you sooo much for the kudos and kind comments, they made me really happy and encouraged me to write. I know my English isn't that good (it's my third or fourth language depending on how you look at it) but I'm very happy you like this :)  
> Thank you <3


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey there, angel. Do you want to go to the living room with me?" Kihyun spoke softly, grasping the little's hands. Joonie just reacted by gently swaying them, looking at them fascinatedly. He looked so small, sitting there on Kihyun's bed. He didn't look tall or chic at all. And as if all the cuteness and softness the boy was exuding weren't enough to melt Kihyun, his eyes were so bright and innocent and filled with so much trust. It made him feel proud that the little trusted him so much, but he still needed to get him to the living room. Leaving the boy alone to go and get someone was not an option, when Joonie was this little, being alone terrified him. Yelling wasn't an option either, he would get scared and cry. Normally, Kihyun would text or call someone to come and help him, but he forgot his phone in the living room.

While he was contemplating what to do and keeping Joonie occupied at the same time, Shownu came in, but Kihyun didn't hear him. He jumped when he heard him speak.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it is. Joonie just slipped very deep."

"Oh, we'll have to be careful then."

"Yes, I'm a bit worried about the others. Last time he slipped this deep, we, together with Wonho, Minhyuk and Hyunjae, were the only ones who were able of taking care of him. I just hope the Boyz won't upset him."

"We'll make sure that there's always at least one of us with him, okay? We won't let him out of our sight and I think the others won't either. There's no need to worry so much."

"I'll try to worry less, hyung, but I can't help it."

"I know, just don't stress him out by worrying too much."

"I won't. Can you please carry Joonie into the living room, hyung? You're a tiny bit stronger than me." Kihyun smiled at his leader.

"Yes, and you're tiny. Now let's pick up our baby, shall we?" Shownu directed his attention towards the little after the small remark. He was just in time to see the little giggle at the offended expression on Kihyun's face. "Kitten, can you look at me?" Shownu asked while gently guiding the boy's chin till he was facing him. "I'm going to pick you up." He continued to talk to the little in a soft, gentle voice while he carried the smaller boy on his hip. He still weighed too little for his height, but he was getting a lot better. It was no trouble for Shownu to carry him though. He worked out and he could carry Wonho, so carrying Joonie wasn't that much of a problem.

Once he arrived in the living room, he put Joonie down in the pillow pile Minhyuk had made in the meantime, having heard from Kihyun about the little's younger age. His eyes immediately softened the moment he saw the little. He stayed soft and silent as he settled the boy on the pillows, making sure he was comfortable before grabbing a blanket and covering him with it. He accidentally brushed his fingers against the younger's sides and the boy was giggling within seconds. The puppy vocal kept on tickling him, loving the small happy expressions he was making. His pacifier had fallen out of his mouth and now his giggles were loud and clear, even reaching into the hallway.

The idols in the hallway looked confused at the giggling, most of them looking towards Hyunjae for an explanation. They had no sight of the living room. They could only see Hyunjae, who was making something in the kitchen. They didn't know what he was making though, but they saw his reaction when he heard the giggling. When Changmin saw how his expression softened immediately and his previous worry seemingly dissipated a little. So it had been Hwall who had giggled like that, that was the most probable reason for Hyunjae's reaction. Changmin thought he sounded absolutely adorable. In the meantime, Hyunjae had finished whatever he was making in the kitchen and grabbed a small bowl to put it into. It looked a lot like babyfood. It was in a cute black bowl and there seemed to be a matching black spoon. There was some kind of figure on it, but Changmin was too far away to recognise it. The others were still looking like their minds were blown. The information they had gotten in the past hour must have been a bit shocking if you didn't figure anything out beforehand, certainly if you had no idea what a little actually was, not that Changmin had any experience. Kevin, the only one out of them who was familiar with littles, was still religiously studying the lists Monsta X had given them. He also took pictures of them on his phone so that he couldn't forget anything. Changmin had been reading with him, but the list of tells and triggers for slipping into little space didn't contain any information he needed immediately and wasn't making any sense to him at the time, so he had taken to observing everyone.

Chanhee seemed to have had the same idea, as he was also looking around, pausing on everyone's faces to gauge their reactions to what happened. When he noticed the main dancer looking at him, he sent him a small smile. It looked a little bit strained and a lot more nervous than his usual smile, but that made sense. One of their members had just confessed to being a little and he was now in the room next to them. The fact that he told them about his little space meant a lot to them. It was a part of him and a part of his life they didn't know about yet and everyone was a bit scared of messing up.

The giggles had quieted down and they could hear Hyunjae talking. He was speaking very softly with an overuse of the pet name kitten. It seemed as if he was feeding the little.

Hyunjae was in fact feeding the little. The cute boy sat on Wonho's lap, who kept him stabilised as Hyunjae fed him.

"Open up kitten." He cooed as he made different amusing noises while feeding the boy. It wasn't that feeding the little was a problem, on the contrary, Joonie was an amazingly well behaved little, it was just that he was too adorable when he smiled, giggled or laughed. Or when he blushed, which happened sometimes when he was called kitten (although mostly when Hyunjae called him that, but said boy was oblivious). Kihyun and Shownu were watching them and trying to decide who they would bring in first and how they would do it. Right after he ate would be the best time for Joonie to meet the others because he will be energised because of the food. They couldn't wait too long, otherwise he would get tired. He got tired easily when he was in such a young headspace. He'll then most likely fall asleep and wake up out of little space.

"Hey, kitten. Is it okay if we bring someone new to play with?" Kihyun asked, kneeling in front of the little. He only got a small tilt of the head in return, but it was a sign he had registered what he had said in some way. The vocal quickly signaled Hyunjae and Hyunwoo to go to the hallway where the others were waiting. Immediately complying, he saw them disappear before returning his attention to the little who was now staring at him, pure, innocent eyes filled with curiosity. Distracting him from the disappearance of two of his favourite caregivers, Kihyun allowed the boy to play with his hands.

In the meantime, the two others had hit some kind of roadblock in the hallway. There were eight idols sitting there, waiting to be called out to go and see little Hyunjoon, but they had no idea of his state. Shownu explained the situation briefly and now they were discussing on who would go first. Eric suggested to do rock-paper-scissors, but that didn't seem appropriate. The situation at hand was too important to be resolved like that. After a few minutes of discussing, the choice fell between Changmin, Jacob and Kevin. Jacob was naturally caring, Kevin had experience and there was something about Changmin's behaviour that made it seem as if he knew more than the others and for a longer period of time. Eventually, they eliminated Jacob and decided to let Kevin and Changmin meet Joonie at the same time. They were a little short on time because the little would be falling asleep sooner or later.

After the decision was made, Hyunjae, Shownu, Changmin and Kevin entered the living room. They were met by an adorable sight, Hyunjoon was sitting on Kihyun's lap in his onesie with his pacifier in his mouth and his plushie on his lap. He was babbling while playing with Minhyuk's hands. The others in the room were on their phones, but they were observing the trio with soft looks. The entrance of the four didn't go unnoticed though. The little's eyes lit up visibly once he saw his two caregivers enter, only to widen in curiosity once he saw the other two. He tilted his head and seemed to mumble something, but the four newcomers couldn't hear it. They just saw Kihyun whisper something and blow a raspberry on Hyunjoon's cheek, causing the little to giggle. The four quickly crossed the living room to where the little was.

Hyunwoo gave the little a featherlight forehead kiss before settling beside Kihyun, the latter allowing Hyunjae to steal the little from his lap and put him on his own. Changmin and Kevin watched in suprise as the little took Hyunjae's hands and began to play with them, his gaze avoiding theirs. Minhyuk moved out of the way to give the group on the floor some space and settled on the couch, next to Jooheon.

"Kitten, aren't you curious about who's in front of you?" Hyunjae cooed, readjusting the way they sat so that Hyunjoon leant the side of his head on his chest and was able to face him without having to turn around. He also gestured Changmin and Kevin to sit next to him and in front of the little, in his immediate line of sight. Seeing the new faces, Hwallie instantly hid his blushing face in his caregiver's chest, before sneaking little looks at the two when he thought they weren't watching. Seeing that they weren't getting anywhere like this, Kihyun sat down on the little's other side, facing Hyunjae and started whispering sweet things to the boy. The cute pet names and soft voice distracted the younger enough for Kihyun to take the little's hand and play with it, making him uncurl his body. This time, when Joonie wanted to hide, seeing the unfamiliar faces, Kevin instantly booped his nose, making a cute noise to go along with it. The little was a giggling mess within seconds and he tried to boop Kevin's nose, but he was completely failing at it. The moonlight boy then gently grabbed his finger and used it to boop his nose. "There you go, kitten." But when he wanted to let go of the boy's finger, Hwall's grip on his hand tightened and he started softly playing with his fingers, extremely fascinated by the unfamiliar hand.

'I don't think you're going to get your hand back soon, Kevin." Hyunjae laughed, looking at the confusion written all over his face. "Our little kitten here likes playing with hands, doesn't he?" He cooed while pinching the little's cheek, a small blush appearing.

"Does our cute little kitten know who we are?" The second eldest 98-liner cooed, poking Joonie's cheek to get his attention. He repeated the question when the little was fully facing him. He tilted his head and the spark of interest in those innocent, pure eyes made everyone want to coddle him and squish him until there was nothing left, but they refrained and just resorted squishing his cheeks.

"I am Kevin. Can you say that, kitten?" Kevin asked, bracing himself to stop his uwu's from dropping the moment the little would open his mouth. But the response he got was even more adorable than he expected so he lost his uwu's anyways.

" 'innie" The little tried to pronouce it, a small pout gracing his lips because it didn't feel like he could say it properly.

"Yes, that's me, cute little kitten, you can call me Vinnie." The excitement in Kevin's eyes immediately cheered the little up and his precious smile was back within seconds. "Kitten, did you know that I brought another friend?" He stage whispered exaggeratedly and pointed to Changmin who was still sitting next to him, internally melting into a puddle. "Introduce yourself, other friend Q." Kevin was being so overdramatic it was hilarious, it took all self control the main dancer had not to laugh.

"Hi kitten, I am Q." The main dancer said, poking his dimple with his finger as he always does when he introduces himself. The little instantly tried to imitate him.

" 'uuuuu?" He asked, prolonging the u till he was out of breath. He tilted his head and poked his cheek with a finger from the hand that wasn't holding Kevin's.

"Yes, that's me." This time, Changmin pointed at himself and the little imitated his motion again. The two 98-liners noticed and they began a game where they continued to imitate each other, the little's reactions getting cuter and cuter every single time. Joonie's main caregivers were relieved when they saw this. Hyunjae already knew that his two friends would fall in love with the little (although not literally), but there had been a small, nagging doubt that it could go wrong.

In the meantime, Hyunwoo had gone back to the hallway to get the next two, but it seemed like their confidence levels had dropped. They looked almost terrified of hurting the little. They really wanted to see him, but were seemingly not ready to be a caregiver yet. That reminded him of their stressed out looks when he went to get the first two. The connection Changmin and Kevin had to Joonie must have been stronger in some way, due to them being roommates, and they were a lot more familar with littles. Shownu went back to the living room to get Hyungwon to help him explain to them what it was like to be there for the little and play with the little, but without being a fulltime caregiver. There he noticed the little getting tired. He quietly told Kihyun about the situation and sent a text in their caregiver chat before going back to the hallway. In the chat, it was decided that the other six idols would enter the room at the same time and settle on the couches. That way, they could observe without having to interact with the little. They decided this while Hyungwon was explaining in the hallway.

They did as they said and the boys were quickly settled on one of the couches. They were 'subtly' observing the little while they were on their phone, but there was nothing subtle about the way they obviously cooing internally at the little's cuteness. Joonie was still playing with Kevin and Changmin. His attention was mainly on Changmin's hand as he played with it, but he couldn't ignore the funny antics of Kevin who was in front of him and burst out giggling every few minutes. Sometimes he spit out his pacifier, but Hyunjae always popped it back in his mouth. Their special relation made them coo as well. The parent-child relationship Joonie had with Kihyun and Shownu was something they absolutely adored, there was no way there could be better caregivers than them, they filled all the requirements easily. The others obviously enjoyed playing with the boy, but clearly left most of the caregiver responsibilities to the three main caregivers. There was a small hierarchy concerning these responsibilities. The only one whose place was seemingly not clear was Hyunjae. He was the youngest of the eight caregivers, but one of the ones closest to the little. He was great at understanding the little's needs and there was a fondness in his usually dreamy eyes that they were mostly unfamiliar with. But the difference between Monsta X and Hyunjae that was described earlier was now more clear. There were subtle things that weren't the same, like some touches, blushed and expressions, but they couldn't figure out why.

The six idols on the couch, Eric, Younghoon, Juhaknyeon, Chanhee, Juyeon and Jacob, had made a groupchat to discuss these things. They didn't want to talk out loud and scare the little or say something wrong. After half an hour, they saw how Hwallie's eyes began to droop and sleepiness began to take over his features. He yawned, letting his pacifier drop out of his mouth. They saw how Hyunjae popped the pacifier back in his mouth and rearranged the boy on his lap so that Hyunwoo could pick him up easily. While they were doing that, the idols saw Kihyun grab some fluffy-looking things and disappear in another hallway. That was probably where the bedrooms are, the idols deduced. When Kihyun came back, he gave Shownu some kind of sign. The elder walked to the room Kihyun came from. He was very careful and tried not to jostle the half-asleep boy too much. They heard a door shut and everyone from Monsta X present in the room and Hyunjae started to tidy all Joonie's little stuff up so that there were no more signs that he ever slipped. Not wanting to be in the way, Kevin and Changmin joined the others on the couch.

Seeing the questioning looks from the boys, Kihyun explained.

"Shownu is going to stay with Joonie while he sleeps, but he sleeps rarely more than half an hour if he isn't too tired. When he wakes up, there's a 99% chance that he's out of little space. He can be gone for longer though, he's sometimes embarrassed when he becomes big and remembers everything his little self has done. That's why Shownu's there. He's very easy-going so there won't be a problem. When they come out and not everything is cleaned up, Hyunjoon will notice and try to help and we don't want him to because he's the little and we should clean up after him as his caregivers."

"That's actually really sweet." Younghoon said, still trying to soak in everything he saw and heard that day.

Everyone in the living room continued to talk for another fifteen minutes till Hyunjoon and Hyunwoo were back.

"Hi." Hyunjoon smiled and waved, clearly more relaxed than before. He had changed out of the onesie and was now wearing one of Hyunjae's oversized sweaters paired with skinny jeans. He seemed nervous with all the attention and easily settled in between Juyeon and Hyunjae, getting squished immediately when they moved closer.

"I hope I was alright?" He said, a questioning tone to his voice. He spoke soft and a little quiet. It was obvious that he was scared of what his members thought when they met little Joonie.

"You were more than alright! You were absolutely adorable!!!" Eric exclaimed. "I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we're now even more platonically in love with you than before."

This comment made Hyunjoon blush furiously, hiding his face in his hands.

"That's a pretty unique way of saying it, but we don't think less of you or any different of big you because of it." Jacob said, his voice soft as ever.

"Can we cut it with this whole sentimental act and just move on. Hwallie is a little, yes. He's absolutely adorable, double yes. It won't change anything in the way we think about him, triple yes. That's it. It isn't that big of a deal." Chanhee said rather loudly.

"Then why are you yelling?" Kevin yelled back.

"I'm not yelling. It's a thing called talking. I can't help it that I'm naturally loud."

"Then just shut up."

"Changminnie, how could you betray me like this?"

The 98-liners, apart from Juyeon, he was just watching amusedly, continued to bicker and soon had everyone laughing with their creative, but stupid insults.

After a few extra hours of talking, getting to know each other and joking around, the manager came to pick the members of The Boyz up and bring them back to the dorm. All the boys in the van were a little exhausted, but more relaxed than they had been in the last few weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me so long to update >-< My life has been a bit hectic and I couldn't find a lot of time to write. I also found this chapter particularly hard to write. It still feels a little off to me, so if you see something that's not how it should be, please tell me so that I can change it ^.^  
> (I know that Sunwoo and Sangyeon weren't in this chapter, but they'll be in the next one.)
> 
> I also have a few questions:
> 
> \- Are there any side ships you'd like? Ships won't play an important role in this story (I'm actually still doubting whether I should do something about Jaehwall or not.), but I'll try to include them if you want them. If you prefer this story with no ships at all, you can say that too, it's all fine by me. I just don't really have my favourite ships, my favourites change a lot (except for Jaehwall). A relationship in this story would probably mean some comments and small moments, but nothing more. If you want some specific friendships, that's possible too. Just tell me ^-^
> 
> \- Would you like a specific length for my chapters or not? I feel more comfortable writing chapters as long as I feel they should be, but that means my updates would be like once a month when my life isn't hectic. But there could also be short chapters inbetween. If I try to shorten them on purpose or cut them in different pieces, it doesn't feel right to me, but how do you feel about that?
> 
> Sorry about my rambling >.< I hope you liked this and if you have any feedback, please give it in the comments ^.^  
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback please? Should I continue this?


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